1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to article holders and, specifically, to article holders and protectors for planar articles and, even more specifically, to article holders and protectors for flexible computer disks, such as floppy disks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Containers or envelopes have long been used to protect flat articles, such as phonograph records, during handling and storage. Typically, such containers or envelopes have been formed of heavy paper, such as cardboard. While such a container provides a small amount of protection to the record, the container itself is subject to deterioration over long use which could impair the safety of the article, such as the phonograph record housed therein.
Typically, such containers are provided with opened top and bottom surfaces which are connected by side walls and a bottom thereby leaving an open slot for insertion or removal of the article, such as the phonograph record or magnetic computer disk therefrom. A slot may also be provided centrally on both of the open edges of the top and bottom surfaces to enable insertion or removal of the article from the container.
Containers or article holders have also been developed for storing computer disks, such as flexible or so-called "floppy disks". While the disks themselves are sealed in a thin paper envelope, such containers, typically formed of a plastic material, have also been utilized to protect the disk during storage and/or handling. However, such previously devised disk holders, while again providing a small degree of protection for a portion of the computer disk beyond that provided by the paper jacket or envelope, nevertheless, have not provided protection for the entire disk.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an article protector/holder suitable for receiving flexible computer or video disks which overcomes the deficiencies associated with the use of previously devised disk protector/holders. It would also be desirable to provide a disk holder which is both inexpensive to manufacture and enables convenient insertion and removal of the disk from the holder. It would also be desirable to provide such a disk protector/holder which enables easy viewing of the label on a disk contained therein. It would also be desirable to provide a disk holder which securely retains the disk within the holder during transport and/or handling. Finally, it would be desirable to provide a disk protector/holder which protects the entire disk from bending, puncture, dust and liquids during the transport and/or handling.